Women's Outdoor Track & Field to Open Season at CCU Invitational

The Coastal Carolina University women’s outdoor track and field team will open its 2010 full squad outdoor season on March 12-13 as they host the annual Coastal Carolina Invitational. The meet is a two-day event and will be held at the Coastal Carolina Track and Field Complex. There will be over 40 schools in attendance with 1,400 athletes participating to make the meet the largest ever at Coastal Carolina.

SLATED TO COMPETEThe Chants will enter a partial squad of about 20 athletes in this weekends event. With the exception of the throwers, all other 2010 indoor and past outdoor All-Big South members will open up their season at next weekends CCU/Shamrock Invitational at Doug Shaw Stadium.

BROWN NARROWLY MISSES NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPSSenior Ikeiylah Brown ran a new Coastal Carolina indoor track and field record 24.17 in the 200 meters at the Virginia Tech Last Chance meet. She narrowly missed the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, finishing only .06 seconds from qualifying.

2010 BIG SOUTH INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPCoastal Carolina finished the 2010 Big South Indoor Championship in second behind Liberty. In a fight to the finish, the spread between the two teams was 37.50 points with Liberty finishing with 182.5 and Coastal recording 145. Overall, the Chanticleers finished with six individual conference champions and 15 All-Big South honorees.

BROWN BRINGS HOME TWO TITLESSenior Ikeiylah Brown came home with some new hardware from the 2010 Big South Indoor Championship after winning the 60-meter dash and the 200 meters Saturday, Feb. 28. Brown ran a preliminary time of 7.51 in the 60-meter dash and bettered it in the finals to 7.48 to win the title. In the 200 meters, she ran a season-best 24.38 and captured her second-consecutive conference title.

HENLEY WINS LONG JUMPSophomore Darriale Henley had a good showing at the Big South Indoor Championship as she took the individual title in the long jump with a leap of 18’10.5 (5.75m). She also placed second in the 60-meter dash, earning All-Big South honors, and was fourth in the 200 meters.

GABE BRINGS HOME THE TITLESophomre Kierra Gabe won the high jump in style by setting a new conference championship meet record with a jump of 5’7.75” (1.72m).

ARANGO UPSETS COMPETITION IN 60-METER HURDLESMelissa Arango upset the final field in the 60-meter hurdles at the Big South Indoor Championship by running a season-best 8.72 to win the event. Before the finals, Arango was seeded fifth, but had a superb performance.

ALUMNA AMBER CAMPBELL WINS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE USA INDOOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPFormer Coastal Carolina women’s track and field All-American and current volunteer assistant coach Amber Campbell took home her fourth consecutive USA Indoor Track & Field Championship in the weight throw, Feb. 28, at the third and final event of the USA Track & Field’s 2010 Indoor Visa Championship Series in Albuquerque, N.M. Campbell opened the meet with a 81’0.5” (24.70m) throw, which is the third-farthest throw ever in history to eventually win her fourth consecutive U.S. Indoor title. The mark was also a new Championship meet record and ranks her number one in the world in the event. At the end of the meet, Campbell was also awarded the prestigious Visa Championship Series Outstanding Track and Field Athlete award after leading the event with 1,213 points, one point ahead of sprinter Carmelita Jeter. With the award, Campbell received a $30,000 bonus from Visa.

ALUMNA AMBER CAMPBELL LEADS WORLD IN WEIGHT THROW, LOOKS TO DEFEND TITLE AT NATIONALSFormer women’s track and field All-American and current volunteer assistant coach Amber Campbell currently leads the world in the weight throw after a 79’9.5”(24.32m) mark at the South Carolina Invitational Feb. 20. Campbell looks to defend her title at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. on Feb. 27, where she is the current three-time defending national champion in the indoor weight throw. BROWN WINS 60-METER DASHSenior Ikeiylah Brown won her first event of the season at the Tiger Paw Invitational in the 60-meter dash with a season-best time of 7.50. Her time ranks her No.1 in the Big South in the 60-meter dash.

KEENAN AND HENLEY HAVE SEASON-BEST MARKS AT TIGER PAWDarriale Henley and Samantha Keenan both had season-best times in the 60-meter dash with Keenan earning a personal best at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Henley ran a 7.56 in the event, placing fourth, while Keenan had a personal-best time of 8.01.

ALUMNA AMBER CAMPBELL LEADS WORLD IN WEIGHT THROW, LOOKS TO DEFEND TITLE AT NATIONALSFormer women’s track and field All-American and current volunteer assistant coach Amber Campbell currently leads the world in the weight throw after a 79’9.5”(24.32m) mark at the South Carolina Invitational Feb. 20. Campbell looks to defend her title at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. on Feb. 27, where she is the current three-time defending national champion in the indoor weight throw.

BROWN COLLECTS FIRST BIG SOUTH HONOR OF THE SEASONSenior Ikeiylah Brown earned her first Big South Conference Choice Hotels Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week honor of the season, the league announced Wednesday, January 20. Brown crossed the finish line at 7.55 in the 60-meter dash to finish eighth and tie for the top spot overall in the Big South at the Virginia Tech Invitational. She also helped the 4x400-meter relay team to a seventh-place finish after a 54.8 third leg led to a team time of 3:49.87, which currently ranks No. 1 in the Big South. NEW FACESNine new faces can be seen on the Chanticleers’ roster this season. Distance runner Janel Reeves, who was All-Big South in cross country, and freshman sprinter Melekia Simpson look to strengthen the track events while Shantelle Patterson, a transfer from South Carolina who finished ninth in the SEC Championship last year, looks to add depth to the field events.

UP NEXTThe Chanticleers are back on the track for the CCU/Shamrock Invitational March 18-20 at Doug Shaw Stadium in Myrtle Beach, S.C.